Opinion

Many students in the St. Andrew’s Upper School community participate in sports outside of school, and receive little recognition for their dedication and success. They endure hours of training and multiple practices per week, but these students must follow the standard of St. Andrew’s athletic policy in order to graduate. 

The Upper School Handbook (2022-2023) states, “Upper School students may also meet their graduation requirements independently in a sport that St. Andrew’s does not offer. In order to receive credit, students need to participate in a minimum of 8 hours per week for the season of completion. This would count as the student’s team sport credit, and they could get a maximum of two of their four credits through independent sports.” Students who participate in sports that St. Andrew does not offer can receive athletic credit, but it comes with a caveat: “A student would only be able to get one credit per year in this, with the other two credits needing to come via St. Andrew’s sponsored activities, whether that be a St. Andrew’s sport, SAS Fitness, or Off-Season Strength & Conditioning class.” 

These extra credits can slow down student athletes, and alter their accomplishments because of the time required to pursue their academics, own sport, and an added SAS sport requirement filler. I interviewed students who participate in outside of school sports to get their perspective and explore their personal situations regarding athletic credit. 

Senior Lily Elliott trains in gymnastics outside of school. She has been a gymnast since she was three years old, and has honed her skill for 15 years. She practices six days a week, including weekday practices beginning after school until 8:45 pm, Saturdays from 7:30 am to 10:30 am, and strength training on Sundays from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm. Gymnastics has no off season, and she has been consistently training at a high level for the entirety of her high school career. Two athletic credits have been waived for gymnastics, but Elliot had to participate in Strength and Conditioning to obtain the necessary graduation requirements for athletics. She mentioned she enjoyed the Strength and Conditioning workouts and meeting new people, but it was not as challenging as her gymnastics practice. Elliot also noted, “I would love to [play a St. Andrew’s sport], it sounds like so much fun, but I am physically unable. Gymnastics is year-round… They would not allow me on the team because I would miss every practice and every game.” Her intense schedule proves her dedication to her sport, even if it means she must take extra athletic training to achieve the requirement. 

Similarly, Senior Grace Tuhabonye is a competitive swimmer. Tuhabonye swims for St. Andrew’s in the winter season, while swimming on her club team year round. She swims in the mornings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, has afternoon practices every weekday, and long practice Saturdays. Grace has never tried to use competitive swimming as a form of athletic credit, because she participated in cross country and swim at the school, so she has met all of her credits. Tuhabonye has managed her athletic and scholar commitments at SAS well, and says she’s been balancing the two since she was in first grade. She says, “Every sport takes a lot mentally and physically. There are so many people on my swim team that do online school.” When asked about her accomplishments through swimming, Grace mentioned she has only received praise for her swimming talents when she won SPC in 2022, and never through competitive swimming. 

Grayson Coffin, a current senior, has participated in Volleyball, Lacrosse, and Swim for St. Andrew’s during his high school career, but he also plays on a club lacrosse team outside of school. Coffin has been playing since third grade. In his busiest weeks, mainly in the summer, Coffin flies to tournament locations, plays Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, then flies back home. He practices on the weekdays alone, then repeats the busy weekend schedule, throughout the entire summer. Coffin played on the 2022 SPC winning Lacrosse team and has continued training with hopes of possibly playing on a club team in college. He says he rarely receives recognition from his school community about club lacrosse, “It’s really disappointing, actually. They don’t put much emphasis on how hard club players work. They don’t really recognize them, unless you’re sending all your stuff to them, and maybe they’ll post about it.” 

Olivia Korman is a sophomore, and she is currently on a club Artistic Swimming Team otherwise known as Synchronized Swimming. She swims at the Westlake Aquatic Center in Austin. Synchro is a full season sport, requiring consistent practice in the fall, winter, spring and summer. Olivia has received two athletic credits from Synchro by filling out the sports exemption form, as Synchro is a sport that is not offered at St. Andrew’s. Last year, after consulting with the previous Head of Upper School, she received another athletic credit by doing “something athletic” after school.  She developed a plan of stretching from 4:00 to 4:30 after the school day ended. She then took the bus home and drove to Synchro practice. Her schedule includes three hour practices every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. To fulfill her arts pillar requirement, she participates in the musical (attending rehearsal until 6:30), then races to Synchro practice, to catch the last hour. Her current plan to receive her fourth and final athletic credit is to manage the Tennis team in the spring of 2024. 

Students that participate in outside of school sports can struggle to fulfill the graduation requirements, though St. Andrew’s offers an array of options for students to receive their total credit. Perhaps St. Andrew’s can find a more equitable way for students to fulfill the requirements for the athletic pillar without sacrificing their recovery time from already packed schedules. Additionally, I challenge the school to find a unique way to recognize club sport athletes who excel each semester.